Musings, travels and tidbits for the pet-bird world from the editors of Bird Talk

Friday, July 14, 2006

Constantly Changing

Since beginning work on the species profiles for BIRD TALK I've read about various pet birds, and everyday I change my mind about which one I would like for myself. Today, I’m focusing on the Australian parakeets, which has me set on having an aviary someday to house a few of the grass ‘keets. I’m sure my mind will change when I return to work Monday and read about another group of companion birds.

Everyday after work I call my mom and at some point the conversation almost always turns to my newfound interest in pet birds and having one of my own. While I often find my mom at home watching the hummingbirds flit around the trees outside the kitchen window, she recently told me that I have piqued her interest in pet birds. In this same conversation she mentioned several family members who had pet birds that she enjoyed visiting as a child. I began to wonder why I have just begun to have any interaction, experience or knowledge of pet birds.

My entire life I was surrounded by horses, cattle, pigs, lambs, dogs, cats and anything that ran wild around my parents’ land in Texas, but birds were the last animal I would have thought of as a pet. After visiting the bird store last week I was excited to get back, so I took a couple girls from work along with me to make a second trip this week. One of the other interns who came along pointed to the large macaw and asked if I had ever held one. My answer was no and she then elaborated on her brief experience with macaws. Again, I was surprised that many of the people around me, even those without a pet bird, have had many more encounters with birds than I have, making me wonder, where have I been?

I have vacationed to locations where parrots live in the wild, but I never opted to take the bird watching tours. I would briefly admire the birds in passing, but never took the time to learn anything about them or consider them as a pet. My internship keeps me constantly stimulated by the various pet bird species that I continue to learn about and I’m sure my daily conversations with my mom will include my ever-changing choice of pet bird. I’m glad my eyes have been opened to a different avenue of pet ownership.